Jensen #55 ,needing some love...

[St Paul Steam]

Hi fellow steamers
I saw this listed on Ebay in rather poor condition (not Jacks doing, I'm sure that's how he received it) and after contacting the listing seller (our own jack @steam engines USA) he so graciously pulled the listing & made a present out of it to me, so very kind of Jack 

here it is in as received condition...



and the after restoration video...

[jkbixby]

Looks like a really good job restoring it Bruce but I'm not surprised. Just out of curiosity how did you reattach the dangling cylinder? I would guess by silver soldering but thought super glue might work also.

[txlabman]

Wow!  What a generous gesture by Jack!  Well done Jack.

This engine ended up with the right person to give it some TLC.

Nice Job Bruce.

Merry Christmas!

Charlie

[Stoker]

What with the 55 being something of a personal favorite of mine, in the Jensen line, I'll have to thank you very kindly Bruce, for bringing that one back from the edge, or perhaps even a little over the edge, and making it once again the wonderful engine that it was originally built to be!!!

[St Paul Steam]

Looks like a really good job restoring it Bruce but I'm not surprised. Just out of curiosity how did you reattach the dangling cylinder? I would guess by silver soldering but thought super glue might work also.

Larry , I use staybright #8 solder, the highest temp "soft" solder I've found ,probably a little overkill, but I don't want it coming  off again.Jensen didn't silver brazing them on either, they used softer solder than I just did. If you get it hot enough for silver  brazing you will definitely ruin the nickel plating & likely distort the part as well.I Remove the snout and piston so I can use a locating positioning pin in the one steam passage that's available. On a Jensen #20 you can access both ends, all this information is on Roger's "restorers toolbox" thread.

[RichSteamTx]

wow, what a transformation!  Well done.

[Stoker]

Looks like a really good job restoring it Bruce but I'm not surprised. Just out of curiosity how did you reattach the dangling cylinder? I would guess by silver soldering but thought super glue might work also.

Larry , I use staybright #8 solder, the highest temp "soft" solder I've found ,probably a little overkill, but I don't want it coming  off again.Jensen didn't silver brazing them on either, they used softer solder than I just did. If you get it hot enough for silver  brazing you will definitely ruin the nickel plating & likely distort the part as well.I Remove the snout and piston so I can use a locating positioning pin in the one steam passage that's available. On a Jensen #20 you can access both ends, all this information is on Roger's "restorers toolbox" thread.

Love Staybright, bonds aluminum and other metals really well and is much higher temperature and strength than regular soft solders!

Also, love Indiana Rog's Restorer's Tool-Box and could not be happier that it has been saved by many and is still accessible!!!

[IndianaRog]

Bruce, I just had an idea.  You could put it out on eBay, Marketplace and other online sources..."Jensen Restorations by SPS".  You could take as many as you had time and interest doing, save a lot of engines in the process and make a few dollars in the process.

I'm serious, you do wonders on these old engines and sir!!

Rog

[St Paul Steam]

Bruce, I just had an idea.  You could put it out on eBay, Marketplace and other online sources..."Jensen Restorations by SPS".  You could take as many as you had time and interest doing, save a lot of engines in the process and make a few dollars in the process.

I'm serious, you do wonders on these old engines and sir!!

Rog

Maybe something to consider in retirement Rog, thank you for the compliment. I could see owners spending the funds on a "collectors series" & up , & maybe the occasional rare or sentimental hobbies plants, probably enough to keep me as busy as I want to be. I really enjoy saving these engines from the scrap heap. Does Jensen Mfg. Still repair customers engines anymore ? It would be nice to be factory approved/certified to do repairs but not necessarily needed.

[RedRyder]

Good on you, Jack for your giving spirit.

And....

Good on you, Bruce for putting a nice restoration on a tired Jensen #55.

[Bobsmodels]

Hi

could someone give me a link to Rog's web site for the restorers information.  I tried the link on his post no luck.

Thank you

Bob

[Paula]

Hi Bob,

The website has been taken down, but I believe you can still download the content. See this thread for more info:

https://www.officeofsteamforum.com/general-discussion/indianarog-and-the-temple-of-steam-website-to-be-no-more/msg58683/#msg58683

Paula

[parallelmotion]

Great work Bruce; thanks for sharing.

[Paula]

Bruce, as usual, your Jensen restoration skills are impeccable. It's always a pleasure to see the results.

I Remove the snout and piston...

If you could share how you do this, I would be grateful. I have an old 25 waiting in the wings, and it was subjected at one time to some very amateur repair attempts:

  [ Guests cannot view attachments ]

It almost looks like they took a vise grip pliers to it. When I restore this engine, I will need to replace that part. Is there a trick to removing it?

Thanks,
Paula

[classixs]

It looks amazing....
Very well done Bruce!!!